The Guru Method GAMSAT Preparation Blog

I'd argue that I was probably busier when preparing for GAMSAT than I was in first year med (Clinical years are an entirely different prospect).

The tough part of GAMSAT prep is that for most of us, it has to happen in tandem with or regular lives.... work, and kids primarily. Once you get into medicine, you restructure your life to support your studies, and in doing that, I found that I had far more time.

I think that is one of the beautiful (yet often overlooked) aspects of GAMSAT, in that it demands so much of you, above and beyond your everyday life, and it is a great litmus test for the trials and pressures of Medical school.

I worked full time, and studied full time during GAMSAT, knowing that if I couldn't maintain that tempo for 3 months, I'd be unlikely to survive Medicine...... now I work part time, and study full time (and then some), so the workload isn't too different.

I think GAMSAT prep, like medicine, is a game of prioritisation. You have to decide what things are important to learn RIGHT NOW, what things CAN WAIT, and what things you can just look up if you need it. You have to be really clever to assign the time you have to the really vital stuff, and maximise your possibilities around that.

Good luck!
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"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.... Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad"

Hi guys!

I'm a GP in Australia. Locally trained.

I went through the undergrad medical course (UNSW) some time back, so probably can't help you out on actual GAMSAT too much.

Feel free to message/post me if any wishes to discuss anything general eg. which textbook is good for what subject in uni, general hints and tips about internship, hospital residency etc. Anything I know I'd be glad to answer.

Please check out also my forum (gpland . org) if you got time. Non-commercial. Just a fun forum for doctors or people who want to become doctors to talk about anything casually, plus a chatroom and some multiplayer games if you get too bored in the library.
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http://www.gpLand.org
A forum for doctors, students, or anyone in the process of working towards becoming a doctor to share ideas casually and anonymously.

Certainly both valid remarks. It took me just over 3 weeks of full time study to get through that lot. I didn't read every chapter of the science books as much of it was unnecessary. As for the fiction I read a lot of it because it was a great way to relax at the end of a long days study.

As for being a time poor student, I can assure you that you'll never be as time poor as when you're a medical student.

I once sat in on a reproductive medicine clinic with a brilliant mentor. He was speaking to a woman in her mid 20s who was trying to conceive. She was being told about ovulation induction with FSH and quite matter of factly told the doctor that she was didn't have the time to come in for all of the appointments because she was too busy. The doctor then replied very gently and earnestly, then do you really have time for children?

Good quality preparation for the GAMSAT may be time consuming, but then again so is failing an attempt (not to mention expensive). Food for thought.

Good luck all

I have to agree with Lovebite...
As a time poor student you need to make every minute count. I would recommend that you use a study guide like MedPrep or similar so you get exactly what is required don't waste time on anything that isn't required.

I found that I had a lot of time to listen on my iPod on the way to work, while watering the garden, cooking dinner, etc so if you find yourself in the same boat then take a listen to;
TED Talks
Skeptics Guide to the Universe
QuackCast
Ockham's Razor
The Science Show

All of these are available on iTunes for free (and direct from the creator) and they are full of interesting information to expand your thinking for section I and II.

Hi.....

I think Hoops has some great points, but I have some concerns with the booklist.

The science book list looks like a really good selection, but the rest of the list, i.e. the humanities texts, the movies and the music are of incredibly limited value to the time sensitive non science student.

Don't get me wrong, the humanities books would be a great read for anyone wanting a well rounded appreciation of some of the bigger issues in life, but none of this is even close to essential reading.

If your reading and comprehension is limited, I'd suggest reading articles in time magazine or similar, in a time pressured situation and getting a loved one to quiz you. I'd also suggest working through the ACER practice papers, as the Secion 1 material in those is relatively good.
_________________
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.... Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad"

Science:
Chemistry and Chemical Raectivity: 5th edn, Kotz and Treichel (well written)
Introduction to Organic Chemistry; 2nd edn, Brown (nothing was going to make me love organic chemistry, but this book helped me to not hate it entirely!)
Biology, 5th edn, Campbell, Reece and Mitchell (I love this book and it's currently serving as my mouse pad!)
Physics Key Ideas: 3rd edn, Essentials Education (this was my actual physics book for year 12, it's alittle clunky but solid)
My year 11 maths book (can't remember it's name but it was as useless at that time as it was in high school....but I did a lot of practice questions to hone my mathematical skills)
Mensa Logic Brain Teasers

Humanities:
Defying Hitler: Sebastian Haffner (an illuminating account and cautionary tale of being a regular person in pre-NAZI Germany, great book)
Kidnapped: Robert Louis Stevenson (one of my favourite books as a child)
Treasure Island: Robert Louis Stevenson (another fabourite)
Tao Te Ching: Lao Tzu (a little less reader friendly, only read part of it)
Oliver Twist: Charles Dickens (I've tried on multiple times to read Dickens and always struggled with the style of writing; when I finally comitted to reading this I LOVED it! Great for honing your language manipulation skills)
The Story of My Life: Helen Keller (an amazing book and all round amazing woman)
English Passengers: Matthew Kneale (won the 2000 Whitbread Book of the Year, my all time favourite book, I've read it 3 or 4 times now!)
Angela's Ashes: Frank McCourt (before it was a sequel and a movie and a t-shirt and a breakfast cereal....thanks Oprah....it was just an all round top read....another of my favourites!)
The New Testament (I was tempted to put Jesus as the author....but that might offend some people I'm not religious, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to be learnt from some of the wisest people the world has ever seen)
The Annalects: Confucius (what a legend, top read)
The complete works of Gary Larson (if you get his humour you basically a shoe in for the humanities)

Movies
Lorenzo's Oil
Patch Adams
Good Will Hunting??
Shawshank Redemption
There were more but I can't recall off the top of my head

Music
Vivaldi
Pachelbel
An assortment of other classical music that I found inherently easy to listen to, I think the main album was entitled 'The Best Classical Music of All Time Ever' or somthing similarly silly, but the music was great
I would also highly recommend the BrainWaves app from the iTunes store. It uses binaural tones to induce certain states of mental activity. It's not entirely mumbo jumbo, there is actually some degree of scientific, peer reviewed evidence behind its efficacy, though I won't proport myself to be an expert in the field!

All told this reading list is worth about $500 from any online book seller or, to quote Good Will Hunting, about $5 in late fees from your public library. It took me 3 1/2 weeks of solid reading for 10+ hours a day to get through this lot and take notes. Best time I ever spent and it achieved what I set out to achieve.

As a side note, remember there is a rate of memory attrition to anything you learn. Let's assign it an arbitrary value of 5% per day. Cramming every day for a solid month before test day is better than a year of studying 1 hour per day. 5 years down the line I remember officially none of what I studied, but I could re-learn it all in a month if needed. Of course studying an hour each day is a good habit and worth while to do, but bear in mind that the GAMSAT is an 8 hour (ish) Battle Royale. You need to go into that thing like a finely tuned athlete ready to smash the competition. Maybe study for an hour a day for the 11 months before February, but in February/March, you train like your life depends on it!!

Hey isthmus, cool name BTW!

Don't stress, I was a nurse before I sat the GAMSAT and my science background was terrible. I went back to resit the first semester of year 12 physics and chem at a mature age high school the year before the exam. I then locked myself in a beach shack for 3 weeks to prepare with the first year uni texts for chem, org chem, and bio and year 12 physics.

I sat in 2005 and got 66 on my first attempt. I've just finished my internship at Flinders.

In answer to your question, yeah it's hard, but it's not insurmountable! 20% of the candidates have to pass it, you might as well be one of them.

I'll be up front about my conflict of interest, my wife and I run a course on reasoning skills for the GAMSAT....that said, check out my blog if your keen
emergency-one.blogspot dot com

It's a free service attached to our business and it's full of useful tips and pointers on how to make the most of your prep and more importantly, how to not melt down before or during the exam!

I'll post the book list I used below. It's been our most popular post so far. All of the books are readily available from the uni library or you can probably pick them up quite cheaply second hand on Amazon.

All the best with your preparations and try not to stress

Hi

Im relatively new to this, but im incredibly stressed out about the GAMSAT

I dont have a science background and am finding the studying for chemistry, physics and biology very hard.

The thing that is most stressful to me is how much time ive had to prepare. Ive only just finished a post graduate degree in psychology around the start of december, took 2 weeks for myself, and have been trying to study for this ever since.

One of the most stressful aspects for me is just how slow i seem to be going. Ive recently purchased the Des Oniell booklets and been working my way through them, but its taking me so long to work out the extended processes and patterns the exist when questions go beyond the formulas. I seem to be coasting along at a snail pace rather than learning.

I suppose what is bothering me is that i see people write about how hard it is, and it feels like im trying to do the impossible in under 3 months, well now just over 9 weeks (the gamsat for me will be March 21st i think).

Is the GAMSAT as bad as they say? Or can it be repeated, allowing me to use this years as a trial/testing experience and then be able to focus in a much more relaxed state on studying for it next year (2013)?

There are several ways it could help that come to mind. You could apply for a bonded position, the theory is that these are less preferable than the Commonwealth supported non-bonded places (CSP). You will still need to meet all the requirements for entry but assuming you do that, the competition may be less making it easier to secure a position (again I say in theory). Also in the interview I suspect that you would be looked upon favourably if you explained that you are from the country and are genuinely interested in returning once qualified.

Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship (MRBS)
Only citizens and permanent residents of Australia are eligible to apply. One hundred Scholarships, worth approximately $24,000 a year (tax free and indexed annually), are on offer annually, Australia-wide, to first year medical students. If you are considering applying for a Scholarship, you must be prepared to commit to six continuous years of rural practice once you complete your basic medical and post graduate training as a specialist, including General Practice. Acceptance of a Scholarship is for students who are committed to making a difference to the people they will eventually serve in rural communities. The Scholarships are allocated and linked to the medical school making the Scholarship offer. Therefore, transferring between universities with the Scholarship is not an option. Further, as the Scholarship is linked to an additional MRBS Scheme place at medical school, a student withdrawing from the MRBS Scheme will also lose that medical school place. For further information about the MRBS Scheme go to: www.health.gov.au/mrbscholarships

Bonded Medical Places Scheme (BMP)
The BMP Scheme is an Australian Government initiative to provide more doctors to areas across Australia experiencing shortages. Applications are open to Australian citizens and permanent residents of Australia. The geographical classification system for the BMP Scheme is based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics? Australian Standard Geographical Classification ? Remoteness Areas (ASGC-RA) system. The system groups locations into ?remoteness areas?, to determine eligible areas for BMP Scheme doctors completing their return of service obligations. The classification system is updated after each census so eligible geographical areas may change over time. A District of Workforce Shortage is determined by the ratio of doctor to population or locations where the population?s health needs are not being met. This is usually outside metropolitan regions where there are fewer doctors per head of population. On attainment of your Fellowship, you will be required to work as a specialist doctor (including General Practice) in an eligible area for the length of your medical degree. BMP participants can reduce the length of the RSO with eligible pre-vocational and vocational training and Scaling discounts. Further information about the BMP Scheme is outlined in further detail in this booklet or at www.health.gov.au/bmpscheme.

Northern Territory Government Bonded Places
Beginning in 2011, the Flinders Medical Program was offered in the Northern Territory, providing opportunities for Territory students to train in Medicine in their local environment. The NT Medical Program offers 24 places and replaces a previous NT sub-quota for Medicine at Flinders. In 2011 and 2012, all of these places will be graduate-entry but from 2013, the number of graduate-entry places will be reduced as the first students in the B Clin Sci/BMBS double degree in NT (up to 12 students) take up reserved places in the Northern Territory Medical Program.
These 24 places are fully sponsored by the NT Government and in allocating these NT Industry-funded places (NTIFP), preference will be given to students who are NT residents and particularly to Indigenous Territorians - although other Australians may apply. These places are associated with a bond to work for two years after graduation, including the Intern year. A Northern Territory resident is defined as a person who, at the time of commencement of the medical course, has:

resided with a permanent address in the Northern Territory for a total of at least two years out of the last six year; or
resided with a permanent address in the Northern Territory for a total of at least five years since commencing primary school.

For further information about these places see www.flinders.edu.au/medicine/sites/medical-course/domestic-applicants/nt-applicants.cfm

Thankyou very much for your reply, I would definitely take your suggestion to retake gamsat this year. By the way, do you know how much advantage would ruralty background give me. Just a rough idea or figure would do. thx